英文互译镜像站

Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington Jr. song)

Last updated

"Just the Two of Us"
Just the Two of Us single.jpg
Single by Grover Washington Jr. featuring Bill Withers
from the album Winelight
B-side "Make Me a Memory (Sad Samba)"
ReleasedFebruary 1981
Genre
Length
  • 7:23 (album version)
  • 3:58 (7-inch edit)
Label Elektra
Songwriters
Producers Jonathan Johnson
  • Grover Washington Jr.
  • Ralph MacDonald
Grover Washington Jr. singles chronology
"Winelight"
(1980)		"Just the Two of Us"
(1981)		"Be Mine (Tonight)"
(1982)
Bill Withers singles chronology
"You Got the Stuff"
(1979)		"Just the Two of Us"
(1981)		"I Want to Spend the Night"
(1981)

"Just the Two of Us" is a song written by Bill Withers, William Salter, and Ralph MacDonald, and recorded by Grover Washington Jr. with Withers on vocals. Elektra Records released it on Washington's album Winelight in October 1980 and as a single in February 1981. The single peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week ending May 2, 1981. [3] Songwriters Withers, Salter and MacDonald won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards. Washington was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance but did not win.

Contents

Background

"Just the Two of Us" was written by Bill Withers, Ralph MacDonald and William Salter. [4] MacDonald and Salter wrote the instrumental track and MacDonald contacted Withers, who wrote the lyrics. The song was included in Grover Washington Jr.'s jazz fusion album Winelight , released on October 24, 1980. [5]

Composition

"Just the Two of Us" is in the key of F minor. The chord progression D♭maj7 – C7♭9 – Fm7 – E♭m7 A♭7 of its intro and verse can be thought of as a double-time modified reordering of the first four bars of the "Sunny" chord progression. [6] "Just the Two of Us" restarts this progression but settles on the minor tonic: D♭maj7 – C7♭9 – Fm7. Its chorus inserts an additional Em7 chord to chromatically descend from the first Fm7 to E♭m7 chord.

Chart performance

The song reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying there for three weeks, behind "Morning Train (9 to 5)" by Sheena Easton and "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. It was Washington's only Top 40 hit.

The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. [7] Withers included the edited version on the 1981 compilation Bill Withers' Greatest Hits and many subsequent greatest hits collections.

Additionally, the song propelled the success of Washington's Winelight and is often credited for leading to the 1980s smooth jazz explosion.

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [27] Platinum90,000‡
Germany (BVMI) [28] Gold300,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [29] Gold35,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [30] 2× Platinum60,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [31] Gold30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [32] Platinum600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Toshinobu Kubota version

  1. ↑ Breihan, Tom (May 4, 2020). "The Number Ones: Sheena Easton's "Morning Train (Nine to Five)". Stereogum . Retrieved July 19, 2023. Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers' elegant smooth-soul reverie ["Just the Two of Us"] peaked at #2...
  2. ↑ Coleman, Mark; Evans, Ben (2004). "Bill Withers". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 884. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  3. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100 – May 2 1981". Billboard . Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ Selby, Abe (February 12, 2021). "'Just The Two Of Us' Songwriter Found His Sound In Solitude". NPR . Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  5. ↑ Graff, Gary (2025). 501 Essential Albums of the '80s: The Music Fan's Definitive Guide. Motorbooks. p. 56. ISBN   9780760393369.
  6. ↑ Cleary, Tom (November 26, 2019). "A history of the chord progression from Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny', and an original tune based on it ('Eye On The Sky')". BirdFeed. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Winelight – Grover Washington Jr. – Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic.
  8. ↑ "Australian Chart Books". www.australianchartbooks.com.au. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Top Singles". RPM Weekly. archived at Library and Archives Canada. June 6, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2018– via bac-lac.gc.ca.
  11. ↑ "Adult Contemporary". RPM Weekly. archived at Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013 – via bac-lac.gc.ca.
  12. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Just the Two of Us". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 22, 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Search results for "Grover Washington, Jr." | Official Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Bill Withers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard . Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Bill Withers Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard . Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Bill Withers Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Top 100 Singles". Cash Box. republished online at tropicalglen.com. May 9, 1981. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 48, 2020" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1981". RPM Weekly. archived at Library and Archives Canada. December 26, 1981. Retrieved April 3, 2019– via bac-lac.gc.ca.
  24. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1981: Singles". Billboard . December 26, 1981. p. YE-9. ISSN   0006-2510.
  26. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Grover Washington, Jr. feat. Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Grover Washington Jr. feat. Bill Withers; 'Just the Two of Us')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Grover Washington Jr. feat. Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  30. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr – Just the Two of Us". Radioscope. Retrieved January 26, 2026.Type Just the Two of Us in the "Search:" fieldand press Enter.
  31. ↑ "Spanish single certifications – Grover Washington / Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  32. ↑ "British single certifications – Grover Washington Jr/Withers – Just the Two Of Us". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  33. ↑ "久保田利伸のシングル売り上げランキング". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Amazon.com: Toshi Kubota: Toshi Kubota / Just The Two Of Us: Music". amazon.com.
  35. ↑ "Amazon.com: Kubota Toshinobu: Just the Two of Us Butcher Bro: Music". amazon.com.
  36. ↑ [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002]
  37. ↑ Team, Editorial (February 17, 2023). "THEORY OF A DEADMAN Stream New Single "Two Of Us (Stuck)"". Sonic Perspectives. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  38. ↑ Yann Savary, Olivier Maréchal. "Just The Two Of Us dans 1 spot TV sur MusiqueDePub.TV". www.musiquedepub.tv (in French). Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  39. ↑ Zhang, Cat (December 21, 2020). "A Year in Music on TikTok". Pitchfork.
  40. ↑ Chung, Lori (December 5, 2020). "Harlem Native Who Wrote 'Just the Two of Us' Song Now a Viral Sensation". NY1 .
  41. ↑ Greenfield, Beth (December 24, 2020). "'Just the Two of Us' writer William Salter, 84, in 'awe' of newfound TikTok fame". Yahoo! Life.
"Just the Two of Us"
Single by Toshi Kubota featuring Caron Wheeler
from the album Kubojah: Parallel World I and Sunshine, Moonlight
ReleasedJune 25, 1996
Recorded
  • 1991
  • 1995 (re-recorded)
Genre
Length
  • 4:28 (album version)
  • 3:33 (single version)
Label Sony Japan
Songwriters
Producers
  • Toshinobu Kubota
  • Ralph MacDonald
  • William Salter
  • Bill Withers
Toshinobu Kubota singles chronology
"La La La Love Song"
(1996)		"Just the Two of Us"
(1996)		"Body-Cation"
(1996)
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
Other songs
Related articles
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
YES镜站站群引擎 YES镜站站群引擎 镜像站群系统 泛镜像站群 MirrorElfR